U.S. Completes Two Nonexplosive Plutonium Trials

March 12, 2013

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration on Monday noted a pair of Z machine plutonium trials completed in the last quarter of 2012 in support of continuing work to ensure the nation's nuclear deterrent remains viable without explosive testing.

The Z machine can generate X-rays of unparalleled intensity to mimic the fusion reactions of nuclear warheads, allowing for analysis of plutonium reactions under conditions like those of a detonating nuclear bomb.

The trials -- revealed in newly published data -- brings to eight the quantity of the trials completed since 2010, Kyodo News reported on Tuesday. A separate series of subcritical tests has examined how plutonium responds to conventional explosive detonations.